Solution Assignment No.
2
1. Consider an object having mass 0.4 kg suspended from a spring having stiffness 160 Nm-1.
a) Write down the equation of motion and obtain the natural frequency 𝜔𝑜 of the system. (3)
b) Now consider a damping force acting on the object is given by −𝑟𝑣, where 𝑟 = 8 Nsm-1. Again, write
down the equation of motion and find the frequency of oscillation 𝜔′ assuming light damping.
Compare this to 𝜔𝑜 and give reasons for the difference. (4)
c) A sinusoidal driving force 𝐹 = 𝐹𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 is applied to the object, where 𝐹𝑜 = 4 N, and 𝜔 = 30 rads-1.
Find the steady state amplitude of the resulting motion. (3)
Solution:
a) The equation of motion is 𝑚𝑥̈ = −𝑠𝑥, where 𝑠 is the stiffness
𝑠
or 𝑥̈ + 𝑥 =0
𝑚
𝑠 [𝑠] [𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒]/[𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒] 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −2
The dimensions of 𝑚 are: [𝑚]
= [𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠]
= 𝑀𝐿
= 𝑇 −2
𝑠
The dimensional analysis shows that is the square of the natural frequency of the system.
𝑚
𝑠
𝜔𝑜 = √𝑚 = 20 𝑠 −1
b) The equation of motion is 𝑚𝑥̈ = −𝑟𝑥̇ − 𝑠𝑥
𝑟 𝑠
or 𝑥̈ + 𝑥̇ + 𝑥 =0 (1)
𝑚 𝑚
where 𝑟 is the damping and 𝑠 is the stiffness.
For light damping, the frequency of damped oscillations is given by:
2 𝛾2
𝜔′ = 𝜔𝑜2 − 4
𝑠 𝑟
where 𝜔𝑜2 = 𝑚 and 𝛾 = 𝑚. Substituting the required values, we get:
2
2 160 𝑁𝑚−1 (8𝑁𝑠𝑚−1 )
𝜔′ = 0.4 𝑘𝑔
− 4×(0.4 𝑘𝑔)2 = 300
𝜔′ = 17.32 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠 −1
𝑠
The frequency of undamped oscillations is 𝜔𝑜 = √𝑚 = 20 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠 −1 . The frequency of damped
oscillations is smaller than the natural frequency 𝜔𝑜 of the system. This is because damping slows
down oscillations due to energy being lost to overcome friction.
c) The steady state amplitude of the resulting motion is given by:
𝐹𝑜⁄
𝑚 𝑟
𝐴= 1 where 𝛾 = 𝑚 = 20
[(𝜔𝑜 2 −𝜔2 )2 +(𝛾𝜔)2 ]2
𝐴 = 0.0128 𝑚 = 1.28 𝑐𝑚
2. An object of mass 1.5 kg hangs from a spring of negligible mass. The spring is extended by 2 cm when
the object is attached. The top end of the spring is oscillated in SHM with an amplitude of 1 mm. The
Q-factor of the system is 12.
a) Find 𝜔𝑜 for this system. (3)
b) What is the amplitude of forced oscillations at resonance? (3)
c) Find the mean power required to maintain forced oscillations at a frequency that is 2% larger than 𝜔𝑜 .
𝛾𝐹 2 1
You may assume that the average power is given by: 𝑃̅(𝜔) = 2𝑚𝑜 4(𝜔 −𝜔) 2 +𝛾2 . (4)
𝑜
Solution:
𝑠
a) To find 𝜔𝑜 = √𝑚, we first need to find the stiffness constant 𝑠 of the spring. In equilibrium
𝑚𝑔 = 𝑠𝑥 where 𝑥 = 0.02 𝑚 is the extension of the spring when a mass of 1.5 𝑘𝑔 is suspended from
it. This gives:
𝑚𝑔
𝑠= 𝑥
𝑔 9.81 𝑚𝑠−2
Substituting for 𝑠 gives 𝜔𝑜 = √ = √
𝑥 0.02 𝑚
= 22.15 𝑟𝑎𝑑. 𝑠 −1
b) The amplitude of forced oscillations at resonance is given by:
𝑄
𝐴 = 𝐴𝑜 1 , where 𝐴𝑜 = 1 𝑚𝑚
1 2
(1− )
4𝑄2
12
Using the value of 𝑄 gives: 𝐴 = 1 𝑚𝑚 × 1 = 1.2 𝑐𝑚
1 2
(1− )
4×(12)2
2
c) The driving frequency is: 𝜔 = 𝜔𝑜 + (100) × 𝜔𝑜 = 22.59 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠 −1
𝑚𝑔
The driving force amplitude 𝐹𝑜 = 𝑠𝐴𝑜 = 𝑥
𝐴𝑜
This gives: 𝐹𝑜 = 0.736 𝑁
𝜔𝑜 22.15
And 𝛾= = = 1.85 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠 −1
𝑄 12
−1
1.85 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠 ×(0.736 𝑁) 2 1
Substituting these values 𝑃̅(𝜔) = 3 𝑘𝑔 4(0.44 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠−1 )2 +(1.85 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠−1 )2
.
= 0.079 𝑊
3. A damped harmonic oscillator is being driven by an external
sinusoidal force 𝐹 = 𝐹𝑜 sin 𝜔𝑡, whereby 𝐹𝑜 is held constant and 𝜔 is
varied. The graph below shows the mean power input by the driving
force.
a) Use the information provided on the graph to find the Q-factor of the
system. (3)
b) If the driving force is removed, the energy decreases according to the equation 𝐸(𝑡) = 𝐸𝑜 𝑒 −𝛾𝑡 , where
𝐸𝑜 is the energy of the system when the driving force is turned off. What fraction of this energy is lost
in the first 2 s, assuming that the natural frequency of the system 𝜔𝑜 = 15 rads-1. (4)
Solution:
a) From the graph shown, the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the resonance curve is:
2Δ𝜔 = 0.04𝜔𝑜
where Δ𝜔 = |𝜔𝑜 − 𝜔|.
The FWHM gives the frequency range at which the average power 𝑃̅(𝜔) falls to one half of its peak
value which occurs at the resonance frequency 𝜔 = 𝜔𝑜 , where 𝜔 is the frequency of the driving force
and 𝜔𝑜 is the natural frequency of the system. This condition gives:
1
𝑃̅(𝜔) = 2 𝑃̅(𝜔 = 𝜔𝑜 )
Using the expression for the average power, we get:
𝛾𝐹 2 1 𝛾𝐹𝑜2 1
𝑃̅(𝜔) = 2𝑚𝑜 4(𝜔0 −𝜔)2 +𝛾 2
= 2𝑚 𝛾 2
1 1
Writing 𝜔0 − 𝜔 = Δ𝜔, we obtain: =
4(Δ𝜔)2 +𝛾2 𝛾2
Solving for Δ𝜔 gives: 2Δ𝜔 = 𝛾
𝜔𝑜 𝜔𝑜 𝜔𝑜
Using 𝛾 = , we get 𝑄= =
𝑄 2Δ𝜔 0.04𝜔𝑜
Thus: 𝑄 = 25
b) The energy of the system at time 𝑡 is given by:
𝐸(𝑡) = 𝐸𝑜 𝑒 −𝛾𝑡
Thus, the fraction of the energy lost after time 𝑡 is:
𝐸𝑜 −𝐸(𝑡) 𝐸(𝑡)
𝐸𝑜
=1− 𝐸𝑜
𝐸𝑜 −𝐸(𝑡)
Substituting for 𝐸(𝑡) we get: 𝐸𝑜
= 1 − 𝑒 −𝛾𝑡
𝜔𝑜 15
Using 𝛾 = 𝑄
,we get 𝛾 = 25 = 0.6 s-1
𝐸𝑜 −𝐸(𝑡)
This gives: 𝐸𝑜
= 1 − 𝑒 −1.2 = 0.7
4 a) Consider a fully charged capacitor having charge 𝑞 connected in series with a
resistor and an inductor as shown in the figure.
i) Set up the equation of motion for the oscillating charge and find the frequency
of oscillations. (3)
ii) Explain why the amplitude of the oscillations decreases with time. (2)
1
iii) How long does it take for the amplitude of oscillations to decay to 𝑒 of its initial
value? (3)
b) Now consider the same circuit being driven by a voltage 𝑉 = 𝑉𝑚 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑡. Set up
the equation of motion and find the resonant frequency of the circuit. (4)
Solution:
a i) To set up the equation of motion we use Kirchhoff’s voltage law that states that the sum of all voltages
in a closed loop must be equal to zero, i.e. ∑𝑖 𝑉𝑖 = 0. Applying this to the circuit and moving in the
direction of the current 𝑖:
𝑞
voltage across capacitor: 𝑉𝐶 =
𝐶
voltage across resistor: 𝑉𝑅 = 𝐼𝑅
𝑑𝑖
voltage across inductor: 𝑉𝐿 = 𝐿
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑞
Using 𝑖 = 𝑑𝑡
, we get:
𝑑2 𝑞 𝑑𝑞 1
𝐿 𝑑𝑡 2 + 𝑅 𝑑𝑡 + 𝐶 𝑞 = 0
𝑑2 𝑞 𝑅 𝑑𝑞 1
𝑑𝑡 2
+ 𝐿 𝑑𝑡 + 𝐿𝐶 𝑞 = 0
Comparing this with the equation of motion for a damped mechanical oscillator
𝑑2 𝑥 𝑟 𝑑𝑞 𝑠
𝑑𝑡 2
+ 𝑚 𝑑𝑡 + 𝑚 𝑞 = 0
𝑟 𝑠
where = 𝛾 (damping constant) and = 𝜔𝑜2 (natural frequency), we find that for the electrical
𝑚 𝑚
𝑅 1
oscillator, 𝛾 =𝐿 and 𝜔𝑜2 = 𝐿𝐶.
The frequency of damped oscillations 𝜔′ is given by:
2 𝛾2
𝜔′ = 𝜔𝑜2 −
4
1 𝑅2
Thus 𝜔′ = √ −
𝐿𝐶 4𝐿2
ii) During each cycle of oscillation, the energy flows back and forth between the capacitor (where it is
stored as electrical energy) and the inductor (where it is stored as magnetic energy). The total energy
of an oscillating system is proportional to the square of the amplitude of oscillations (refer to lecture
on energy of mechanical oscillator for derivation of this relation). The amplitude of oscillations
decreases with time because the energy is being dissipated as heat in the resistor.
iii) The amplitude as a function of time is:
𝐴(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑜 𝑒 −𝛾𝑡
1
If in time 𝑡 the amplitude decays to 𝑒 of its initial value, then
𝐴𝑜
𝑒
= 𝐴𝑜 𝑒 −𝛾𝑡
1 𝐿
𝑡=𝛾=𝑅
b) In the case of an external driving voltage, the equation of motion becomes:
𝑑2 𝑞 𝑑𝑞 1
𝐿 +𝑅 + 𝑞 = 𝑉𝑚 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑡
𝑑𝑡 2 𝑑𝑡 𝐶
𝑑2 𝑞 𝑅 𝑑𝑞 1 𝑉𝑚
𝑑𝑡 2
+ 𝐿 𝑑𝑡 + 𝐿𝐶 𝑞 = 𝐿
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑡
Resonance occurs when the driving frequency 𝜔 is equal to the natural frequency 𝜔𝑜 of the circuit.
1
From part ai), 𝜔𝑜 =
√𝐿𝐶